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proteins
Proteins are, simplified, the construction material of our bodies. Besides the components of carbohydrates and fat, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, they contain another element: nitrogen. The organism can´t handle the proteins themselves, the have to be broken up in amino acids.
There are 20 different amino acids. Our body can synthesize ten of them from other compounds, the other 10 have to be provided by food. About 15% of our total daily calories should be delivered by proteins.
functions
Every second millions of tissues of our bodies die. That´s nothing scary, just a very natural process. The good news is, that these tissues are immediately renewed. Second by second by second ..... Basically tissues are made of are water and amino acids. To build up, replace and maintain them we need to take in a certain amount of proteins each day.
Unfortunately food rich in proteins very often comes with lots fat. The challenge is to find low fat, high protein food combinations.
components
But first let´s have a look at the amino acids. The ones our body can create are called nonessential amino acids. On the other hand there are essential amino acids, the ones we have to obtain by food.
No protein source includes all of these amino acids, but their combination determines the biological value of a specific protein. |
|
nonessential |
essential |
Alanine
Asparagin
Aspartate
Cysteine
Glutamate
Glutamine
Glycine
Proline
Serine
Tyrosine
|
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanin
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine
Arginine
Histidine
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classification
Proteins can be of animal or vegetable origin. Because of their beneficial combination of amino acids, animal proteins are valued higher than vegetable proteins.
The follwing table gives a brief overwiev about common foods and their protein-fat-relation.
| |
vegetable protein |
animal protein |
good sources |
name |
protein |
fat |
name |
protein |
fat |
white beans
peas
dried soy
oatmeal
crispbread
pasta
dried barm
dried mushrooms |
21%
23%
44%
14%
10%
13,5%
48%
26% |
1,5%
1,4%
2%
7%
1,5%
3%
4%
2,5% |
chicken (breast)
beef (fatless)
pork
turkey (breast)
veal (fatless)
lamb (fatless)
ham (fatless)
game
white halibut
tuna
codfish |
23%
21,5
22%
24%
22%
21%
30%
21%
20%
22%
18% |
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1,5%
3%
2%
1,5%
4,5%
0,6% |
bad sources |
name |
protein |
fat |
name |
protein |
fat |
peanuts*
almonds*
walnuts*
avocado* |
26%
19%
15% |
48%
54%
62% |
duck
goose
bockwurst
sausage
salami
cured ham
eel**
salmon** |
18%
15,8%
12,5%
9,8%
18,5%
17%
15%
20% |
17%
31%
25,3%
29%
33%
35%
24%
14% |
protein requirement
The daily requirement of protein has always been a subject of controverse discussions. The following table provides an informative basis.
body in numbers |
daily protein requirement by level of activity in gram (g) |
lbs |
kg |
average
level |
intermediate
level |
bodybuilder |
aerobic tests
athlete |
135
145
155
165
175
187
200
210
220
230
240
253
265
275
285 |
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
|
48
52
56
60
94
68
72
76
80
84
88
92
96
100
104
|
72
78
84
90
96
102
108
114
120
126
132
144
120
150
156
|
102
110
119
128
136
145
153
162
170
179
187
196
204
213
221
|
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
250
260
|
Together with a higher protein intake the amount of substancies responsible for braking them down has to be higher. That´s mainly water, B-vitamines, magnesium and calcium. For further information look in the chapters vitamins and minerals
Another point worth mentioning is the fact, that our body can only digest 30-40g of protein per meal. Eating much more makes no sense and increases the production of toxic waste products.
consumption reference
muscle growth
For muscle growth have 5-6 meals per day, one every 3 hours, with about 30-40 gram of protein per meal. Except directly after training. At this point your body is expecting carbohydrates to refill the empty glycogen storages of the muscles. The precious protein would be burnt. So replace the protein- with a weightgainer-shake and wait about 60 minutes.
maintenance
As your training is just about keeping your actual shape,
weight loss
Weight (fat) loss needs muscles. Avoid large amounts carbohydrates, especially in the evening, but keep your protein intake on a high level to have your muscles and metabolism working.
biological value (BV)
The biological value measures the quality of proteins. The higher it is, the more amino acids of a specific protein the body can utilize. The protein of the whole egg became the reference value 100.
Here´s a short list of common protein sources and their biological value. |
Smart combinations o fproteins from animals and vegetables increase the BV by balancing limitating amino acids. |
food |
BV |
food combination |
BV |
isolated whey
whole eggs
potatoes
fish (tuna)
beef
milk
soy
rice
beans
corn |
104
100
98
93
92
88
85
81
72
72 |
egg 36%
milk 75%
egg 60%
egg 68%
egg 76%
milk 51%
egg 88%
beef 78%
egg 35%
beans 52% |
64% potatoes
25% flour
40% soy
32% wheat
24% milk
49% potatoes
12% corn
22% potatoes
65% beans
48% corn |
136
125
124
123
119
114
114
114
109
99 |
The highest value ever measured is 136 from the egg-potatoe combination.
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